Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 13, 1850. His birth name is "Lewis", but he later decided he wanted his name to be "Louis" pronounced as "Lewis". He later attended Edinburg College and studied law. He did not enjoy law, so he decided he wanted to be a writer. He took numerous jobs for magizines and newspapers after he fell in love with Fanny Osbourn. He traveled much due to health concerns, but eventually settled in Samoa, where he had 400 acres of land to build his mansion. He died from a stroke on December 3, 1894, at the age of 44.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Poems
The Gardener
The gardener does not love to talk.
He makes me keep the gravel walk;
And when he puts his tools away,
He locks the door and takes the key.
Away behind the currant row,
Where no one else but cook may go,
Far in the plots, I see him dig,
Old and serious, brown and big.
He digs the flowers, green, red, and blue,
Nor wishes to be spoken to.
He digs the flowers and cuts the hay,
And never seems to want to play.
Silly gardener! summer goes,
And winter comes with pinching toes,
When in the garden bare and brown
You must lay your barrow down.
Well now, and while the summer stays,
To profit by these garden days
O how much wiser you would be
To play at Indian wars with me!
Response
Personal Reaction -
I feel this poem was written well, as it realy makes me feel like I am the child and that I know the gardener. The way he wrote this poem made me feel connected the the gardener and child, almost as if they were relatives of mine.
Poetic Devices -
Ryme Scheme - The Rhyme sceme is as follows:
A A B C
D D E E
F F C C
G G H H
B B I I
Theme -
The theme, as far as the child's point of view, is that the gardener should stop working so hard and play a little bit before you can't anymore.
Escape At Bedtime
The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out
Through the blinds and the windows and bars;
And high overhead and all moving about,
There were thousands of millions of stars.
There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,
Nor of people in church or the Park.
As the crowds of stars that looked down upon me,
And that glittered and twinkled in the dark.
The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter and all,
and the star of the sailor, and Mars,
These shown in the sky and the pail by the wall
Would be half full of water and stars.
They saw me at last, and chased me with cries,
And soon they had me packed into bed;
But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes,
and the stars going round in my head.
Response -
Pesonal Reaction -
Of all the works of Mr. Stevenson I feel that this one appeals to me the most. When I read this poem, I fell warm inside and want to be with that child, looking at the stars.
Poetic Devices -
Rhyme Scheme - A B A B C D C D E F E F G H G H
Theme - You should not stay up late looking at stars. Or else stars will chase you to bed.
At The Seaside
When I was down beside the sea
A wooden spade they gave to me
To dig the sandy shore.
My holes were empty like a cup,
In every hole the sea came up
Till it could come up no more.
Biography
Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 13, 1850. His birth name is "Lewis", but he later decided he wanted his name to be "Louis" pronounced as "Lewis". He later attended Edinburg College and studied law. He did not enjoy law, so he decided he wanted to be a writer. He took numerous jobs for magizines and newspapers after he fell in love with Fanny Osbourn. He traveled much due to health concerns, but eventually settled in Samoa, where he had 400 acres of land to build his mansion. He died from a stroke on December 3, 1894, at the age of 44.
Poems
The Gardener
The gardener does not love to talk.He makes me keep the gravel walk;
And when he puts his tools away,
He locks the door and takes the key.
Away behind the currant row,
Where no one else but cook may go,
Far in the plots, I see him dig,
Old and serious, brown and big.
He digs the flowers, green, red, and blue,
Nor wishes to be spoken to.
He digs the flowers and cuts the hay,
And never seems to want to play.
Silly gardener! summer goes,
And winter comes with pinching toes,
When in the garden bare and brown
You must lay your barrow down.
Well now, and while the summer stays,
To profit by these garden days
O how much wiser you would be
To play at Indian wars with me!
Response
Personal Reaction -
I feel this poem was written well, as it realy makes me feel like I am the child and that I know the gardener. The way he wrote this poem made me feel connected the the gardener and child, almost as if they were relatives of mine.Poetic Devices -
Ryme Scheme - The Rhyme sceme is as follows:
A A B CD D E E
F F C C
G G H H
B B I I
Theme -
The theme, as far as the child's point of view, is that the gardener should stop working so hard and play a little bit before you can't anymore.Escape At Bedtime
The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone outThrough the blinds and the windows and bars;
And high overhead and all moving about,
There were thousands of millions of stars.
There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,
Nor of people in church or the Park.
As the crowds of stars that looked down upon me,
And that glittered and twinkled in the dark.
The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter and all,
and the star of the sailor, and Mars,
These shown in the sky and the pail by the wall
Would be half full of water and stars.
They saw me at last, and chased me with cries,
And soon they had me packed into bed;
But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes,
and the stars going round in my head.
Response -
Pesonal Reaction -
Of all the works of Mr. Stevenson I feel that this one appeals to me the most. When I read this poem, I fell warm inside and want to be with that child, looking at the stars.
Poetic Devices -
Rhyme Scheme - A B A B C D C D E F E F G H G H
Theme - You should not stay up late looking at stars. Or else stars will chase you to bed.
At The Seaside
When I was down beside the seaA wooden spade they gave to me
To dig the sandy shore.
My holes were empty like a cup,
In every hole the sea came up
Till it could come up no more.
Sources
Merriman, C.D. "Robert Louis Stevenson". The Liteture Network. 2008. Jalic Inc. Mar 1 2010. http://www.online-literature.com/stevenson/Biography.com. "Robert Louis Stevenson". Biography.com. 2005. Biography.com. Mar 2 2010. http://www.biography.com/articles/Robert-Louis-Stevenson-9494571
Bonver, Edward. "The Gardener". A Complete Collection of Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. 2000. poetryloverspage.com. Mar 3 2010. http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/stevenson/stevenson_ind.html